


Must You?

by voleuse



Category: Lost
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-20
Updated: 2005-10-20
Packaged: 2017-10-04 09:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voleuse/pseuds/voleuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Did the glass break? Was the baggage misrouted? Will this go on my record?</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Must You?

**Author's Note:**

> Set before 1.20. Title and summary adapted from Jeanne Marie Beaumont's _Afraid So_.

Claire is crouched next to one of the smaller pools, back curved, hair falling over her shoulders in a tangle.

She is also, Sun notices, crying.

"Claire?" she murmurs, ready to back away if unwelcome.

Claire whips around, eyes narrow, but she smiles. "Oh. Hey, Sun."

"What's wrong?" She steps forward, feeling the ground through the soles of her shoes. "Is it the baby?"

"No," Claire says, one hand landing low on her belly. "It's just..." She raises her other hand, offering up a crumpled fold of blanket.

Sun takes it from her, clutches the damp cloth. It smells like sand and shadowed trees.

"It's the closest thing I could find to a baby blanket," Claire explains. "And I'd wanted--"

"Better," Sun finishes. She folds the blanket precisely.

"I had some really nice blankets, before. Bought them special for the baby." Claire sighs. "They were soft, and they had teddy bears stitched in the corner."

Sun smiles, because she doesn't have any words for this.

"I just wanted," Claire says, "more." She swipes her eyes with the back of her arm.

Sun puts a light hand on Claire's shoulder, tightens her fingers for half a second.

"I know."

*

 

That evening, Sun finds Claire, sitting next to a bonfire with Charlie and Hurley. They smile at her, invite her to sit.

She shakes her head, but stoops beside Claire. Hands her a shell, a stone, and a flower.

Claire sniffs at the bright petals, rubs her thumb over the brittle curve of the shell. Rolls the small stone in her hand like a ball.

"What are these?" she asks, a puzzled frown creasing her brow.

Sun smiles. "For the baby," she replies, "and for you."

Claire gasps, a quick catch of breath, and her hand closes around the stone tightly.

When she looks at Sun, her eyes are bright, and her smile is even brighter.

"Thank you," she says, and bites her lip.

Sun nods, dusts sand from her palms as she stands.

As she walks away, she hears Charlie ask Claire what they meant.

She hears Claire giggle and say, "It's a secret."


End file.
